Tube couplings are employed in the medical field both in the hospital environment and for in home patient care. Coupling elements are needed, for example, to connect an ostomy bag to a drainage tube, or to connect an incontinence urine collection device to a drainage tube, or to connect a drainage tube to a drainage bag, or a catheter to a drainage tube. Ideally, the coupling should provide a fluid tight seal, should be simple to manipulate so as to provide for rapid connection and disconnection, and should also accomodate movement by the patient.
Various deisgns of tube couplings for medical use have been proposed as note, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,394,954 to Sarns, U.S. Pat. No. 3,245,703 to Manly, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,781 to Holbrook. However, for the most part, such prior designs have been difficult to manipulate and have precluded rotation between coupling parts in order to maintain a fluid tight seal.